The 17th annual Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 awards ceremony  (7 November, The Brewery – London) recognised the founders and directors of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing private technology companies.

The Tech Track 100 league table ranks the UK’s private tech, media and telecoms (TMT) companies with the fastest-growing sales. The companies increased their sales on average over the last three years by a record of 99% a year to a total of £2.9bn. Staff numbers rose by 11,830 over the same period to 15,300.

The 290 guests at the dinner included founders and senior directors from leading tech companies such as Farfetch, LADBible, Immunocore, LoveCrafts and Zopa.

The Tech Track 100 award for best use of IP, sponsored by Singer Capital Markets, was presented by Tim Cockroft, founder and chief executive, to co-founder and chief executive Graeme Malcolm of M Squared Lasers. The company’s lasers are protected by 220 patents, and have applications ranging from developing quantum computers to diagnosing cancer.